To My Unicorn
by goldgall
Summary: Dramonie. Hermione wants to be who she was before Hogwarts, and Draco wants to show her that she isn't as bad as she thinks. When Hermione leaver her diary in the Common Room, she'll never speak to him again. Because she doesn't love him. Right?
1. Secrets

Hermione Granger was a girl with secrets, a lot of secrets. She had secrets that only she and her friends knew, she had secrets that only she knew, but she also had secrets that even Hermione didn't realize were true.

The truth was that there were several different Hermione Grangers. The side that she showed to her friends, a prim and proper bookworm that hates breaking the rules. There was the side that she showed to her enemies, that side was summed up in one word: revenge.

Then there was the side that she showed to Draco Malfoy. Most people would believe that Draco was one of her enemies, Hermione didn't consider that to be true. She might keep the pretence that she hated his guts, but she considered him to be an outlet for all her pent-up frustration.

She enjoyed her little spats with him, no one else could give her as good an argument as him. Not that she would ever tell him that, that would be against the rules. Against the rules she put up in her mind, to prevent herself from falling for him. Against the unspoken agreement that they had come to.

Her eyes followed his handsome face across the Common Room as she pretended to read her book. This same, boring old book that she had read ten times before, but still read it to put up this façade that she had kept up for seven years.

_What happened to me? _She wondered to herself. She used to be more exciting, full of life! She used to tease or laugh at her friends that would rather spend time in the library than go to the movies, or camp out in the forest.

It started with Hogwarts. The letter had caught her off-guard, threw the world that she thought she had figured out on its head. They had mentioned books, and she scoffed at the thought of them.

But she had been so pressured by her parents, so worried of failing the new, exciting class that she knew nothing about, that she had thrown her brain into overdrive and studied more than she had in her entire life.

She had disobeyed the routine that she had put up in her mind. _Study for a few hours, then spend the rest of the day with her friends. _It was enough to get an average grade. But her parents wanted perfection, they didn't care about how many friends she had, or what she wanted, they just wanted her to study.

"Oh, Minny!" Her mother had squealed, when she had shown her the letter, calling her the name that she hated. "This is the perfect chance to get some good grades for a change!" She had said.

"Yes, Hermione" Her father had said seriously "No more of this slacking off. You study, and you study hard." That was it. No celebration. No congratulations. And certainly no one told her that they were proud that their little girl could do magic. Just a warning telling her to work hard.

She wanted to rebel, she wanted to show her friends the real her… But she couldn't.

How would she go about it, for one? How would she tell the people that had known her for the last seven years of her life that they didn't know her at all? How does someone do that?

That was why she was so relieved when she had entered this truce with Draco. It was a chance to be who she wanted! It didn't matter what he thought, she hated her anyway.

But the insults and threats, the nights spend arguing over trivial things, the small dash they had for the bathroom every day, they made them unintentionally get to know each other.

Hermione had gotten a taste of what it was like to be her former self, the Hermione she loved, she was unwilling to revert back for her friends.

Now she was desperately wanting to show who she really was to her friends, but scared of rejection. As well as wanting to be more than almost-friends, or whatever she was to Draco, but she couldn't admit it to anyone but herself, and even then only barely.

The blond haired Adonis left the room, and while he was gone, Hermione closed her diary and left it on top of the despised book, _Hogwarts: A History_. She then left the Common Room to her room. There, she lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling that her eyes had traced over many times before, unwilling to go to sleep for fear of more dreams about the only person that could make her so happy and fearful at the same time.


	2. The Locket

How had he fallen for this beautiful, intelligent woman? This beautiful, intelligent woman that he did not deserve.

It started with the insults, they would do whatever they were doing, then throw an insult at the other, not even looking up. Then the insults stopped meaning anything. That was when the arguments had come up, they talked about anything and everything, House Elf Rights, literature, music, animals, other classmates.

He watched as she read that old history book. She had let it slip that she hated it on one of the many nights they had talked about literature. _So why read it_? He thought.

That was the point of the war, wasn't it? To let people be free to do what they wanted?

He smiled as he remembered one day they had spent in front of the lake, they had been laughing and joking with each other, just sitting on the grass and talking, ignoring the curious stares they got from classmates and even the staff themselves. Then, he had noticed a glint of golden at the edge of the forest. They had gone closer to investigate, and were greeted by the sight of a beautiful golden unicorn foal and its mother. The mother had surveyed them with a wise gaze, as if she could see into his soul.

Hermione had walked forward in awe, and stroked the unicorn's snout reverently. The mother walked towards Draco, and bent it's head, allowing he too to let him stroke the fine creature on the snout. The foal looked at them with playful curiosity, such as the curiosity of a puppy with it's first toy.

The unicorn and it's foal had then left, trotting calmly back into the forest. They didn't say anything, words would have just ruined the magical thing that just happened.

It had started to rain, so Hermione had run back up to the castle. Draco, however had caught sight of a golden glint in the grass. He bent down and picked up a golden hair. Next to it was a silver one.

Draco had tucked the unicorn hairs in his pocket, and then jogged to follow after Hermione.

The next day there had been a Hogsmede visit. Hermione had decided to stay at the castle, so Draco took advantage of her absence by going to a new jewellery store in Hogsmede and bought a necklace that reminded him of her. It a gold oval shaped locket with a carving of a rearing unicorn on the front. He requested for it to be engraved, and it was going to be posted to him by owl when it was finished.

He planned to put the unicorn hairs and a moving picture of the mother and foal that he had made out of his memories inside it. He planned to give it to her on her birthday, which was in a week.

He was wrenched out of the past by a tapping sound on the window. He turned to look, and was greeted by the sight of a stormy black owl tapping the window. He signalled to the owl to go to his bedroom. Even though Hermione seemed to be engrossed in her book, he still didn't want her to see it until he gave it to her.

He left the Common Room to go to his room and take the package from the impatient owl. He opened the velvet box and saw the locket. He gently lifted it from the box and checked the engraving. He gently put the picture and unicorn hair in the locket and replaced it in the box. He hid it in a shoe in his closet, and returned to the Common Room to be in the presence of the beautiful bushy-haired woman, only to find that she had gone.

He swallowed the lump of disappointment that had risen in his throat at the sight of a smaller book on top of the book she was reading.

His curiosity overwhelming him, he stepped forward and picked up the smaller leather-bound book. He sat down on the seat that Hermione had just vacated and looked at the first page.

_Hermione Granger's Diary_

He hesitated, unsure wether or not to keep reading, but in the end the need to know what she thought of him prevailed over his want to let her have her space.


	3. Taking The Diary

Hello, and Happy Easter!

Seriana14: Are you being sarcastic? Of course he wouldn't do that! I hope. I mean, these little fella's can be quite a bit hard to control (kicks Ron Weasley back into a cage "But I wanna be with Hermione! Me! Me!").

And, yeah, he should know the real her. You don't think she's a bit too OOC? I mean, in my mind, she doesn't see it much of a threat to show Draco, because no one she cared about would believe anything he said of her, and he never really knew her, so he wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyway.

This was supposed to be a serious fic, but it's so hard for me to not add humour! 

RECAP:** His curiosity overwhelming him, he stepped forward and picked up the smaller leather-bound book. He sat down on the seat that Hermione had just vacated and looked at the first page.**

**Hermione Granger's Diary**

**He hesitated, unsure wether or not to keep reading, but in the end the need to know what she thought of him prevailed over his want to let her have her space.**

_**Dear Diary,**_

_**My mother gave me this diary today. It was pink and purple with rainbows and bunnies on the cover. Needless to say, I removed them immediately and converted the cover to a non descript leather bound maroon cover.**_

_**I also discovered that I was made Head Girl today. As usual, just more lectures to do better and not disappoint my teachers now that I've set such high standards. Yes, Dad. I'm the one who pressured myself into doing lots of work and told myself that anything less than perfect was not good.**_

_**Head Girl should not be chosen by book smarts. It should be chosen for ingenuity and a cool head. The most imaginative thing I've done is a painting when I was 10. Before I came to Hogwarts and found out I was a witch.**_

_**Since I went there, I've done nothing even remotely imaginative or creative. I've been stuck in a rut, memorising facts and saving Harry & Ron's asses from trouble.**_

_**Not that I begrudge them that. Well, not Harry, anyway. He **_**does **_**keep a cool head, most of the time. But when someone he cares about is in trouble, he charges in without any plan. It shows bravery, courage, heart and loyalty. Ron, however, charges in and leaves his brain behind whenever he has a chance, never mind when he doesn't. That shows—well, I do not want to start insulting my friend, even when it's true.**_

_**I don't know who the Head Boy is, yet. The letter said that I would be gaining the information about who I would be living with for the next year when I arrive. I heard something off the rumour mill (commonly known as Lavender Brown and Parvati Patail) that all the previous Head Girl and Boys have married each other. They said that it was some magical enchantment on the position or some other nonsense, but I think it was Dumbledore.**_

_**I think he plays matchmaker when he makes the Heads. In that case, I'll probably end up with Ron. If I do, then I will know for sure that what Malfoy has been saying is true and that Dumbledore really is senile.**_

_**Yours,**_

_**Hermione.**_

**He raised his eyebrow as he finished reading. Glancing uneasily at Hermione's closed door, worried that Hermione might come through and discover that he had been reading her diary, he made his decision.**

"_**Geminio**_**" He cast, and picked up the duplicate to read in his room, after thoroughly warding it and hiding it behind the bookshelf beside his bed. He did, after all, want to live for more than ten minutes.**

**Moments after he hid the diary, the woman who's thoughts he had been reading came knocking on his door.**

**She was holding her diary, with a thunderously angry expression on her face.**


	4. The Plan

**Yes, yes, I'm updating in pairs. I am tremendously bored. I'm playing Virtual Villagers and I have two games, but I one of them I'm waiting for the golden child to be born (by the way, does anyone know if you need an extra level of fertility to get the golden child?), and in the other one they're cleaning up the beach.**

**Therefore, since all other games on this machine=yawn, and I don't have anything else to do before 12 tomorrow (the only time I can go online), so I'm typing as much as I can before I think of anything else to do.**

_**RECAP:**___"_Geminio_" He cast, and picked up the duplicate to read in his room, after thoroughly warding it and hiding it behind the bookshelf beside his bed. He did, after all, want to live for more than ten minutes.

Moments after he hid the diary, the woman who's thoughts he had been reading came knocking on his door.

She was holding her diary, with a thunderously angry expression on her face.

Draco swallowed nervously as fear clouded his brain. Not fear of the brunette standing in his doorway. No, if she was angry enough to hex him, he could hold his own in a duel, but what worried him was what she might say in her anger.

If she told him that she hated him, that she despised him and wanted nothing to do with him, then he wasn't sure if he could take it. He was revolted by the feelings and thoughts he recognised in his brain, but he couldn't change them. He couldn't change the fact that he felt like never eating or feeling happiness when he thought about her proclaiming her hatred for him, any more than he could change the fact that thinking of them together made him want to leap for joy.

But whatever befell him, he would rest… well, not exactly happy, depending, but at least part resigned, as long as the bookworm he had been blessed enough to know was happy.

He readied himself and turned to the still-seething Hermione. "Yes?" He asked, as politely as he could, his eyes darting nervously to the leather-bound book in her hand the only indication that anything was amiss in his mind.

Hermione stepped into his room and sat down on his bed, her hand loosely clutching her diary next to her, but her calm demeanour conflicted with the venomous way she thrust the piece of parchment in her hand that he had noticed, his attention occupied on the diary in her other hand.

He caught it with one hand and quickly read it.

_Hey Herms!_

_There was a announcement last week while you were in your room, skipping breakfast and studying, having no fun, as usual :)._

_There's gonna be a ball in a few days, forgot to tell you before. You don't have to worry about a date. I'll meet you in the great hall where the ball is._

_Harry's gone and asked Gin already, and she answered with a big snog in the middle of breakfast! I swear, they're only doing this to annoy me!_

_-Ron_

At first, Draco couldn't see what got her so riled up, but then he read it again and understood. He let out a breath of relief as he realized that she wasn't mad at _him_, but at the Weasel.

"Bloody stupid Weasel." He said as he gave the parchment back to the angry witch.

"How dare he! He snogs Lavender, comes back and says sorry, I was stupid enough to forgive him, then he goes off and sticks his tongue down Parvati's throat '_Just once, Herms!_'', then when I reject him, he goes back to Lavender for snogs and who knows what else!" Hermione ranted, her free hand clutching the air as if she were strangling the youngest male Weasel. "All the time, having the _nerve _to keep flirting with me and asking me out every available chance! I had the good grace, _stupid _grace I see now, to ignore him. And now, _now_! Now he's come up with this stupid little plan to get me to go out with him!"

She finished her rant, breathing deeply and clutching his bed as if physically trying to stop herself from leaping up and strangling the object of her ire.

Suddenly, the angry frown on her face turned into a smile. She had an evil expression on her face, and Draco unconsciously took a step backwards. He knew what that look meant, and right now he was pitying Potters sidekick.

The got up slowly, still clutching her diary. "I know something that will get it through his thick skull that I do not like him"

Then she turned that look on him, and Draco stopped pitying Weasely and started feeling scared for himself.

"But I need your help" She continued, oblivious to Draco's increasing anxiety. "I need you to be my date to the ball" She said.

She seemed to notice the shocked expression on her face and was quick to do what she thought would reassure him. "Not really! Just to get Ron mad.". Seeing the downcast expression that was then apparent on his face, she tried to convince him "Please! Me going out with his worst enemy would make him just turn puce! Please?" She said, giving him the puppy-dog eyes. He could do nothing but sigh and nod his head.

She hurtled herself at him, and the next thing he knew he was being hugged by his secret crush. He awkwardly hugged her back, and she sprang back, regarding him with an annoyed expression.

"Why aren't you as happy as I am?" She demanded with her hands on her hips. Frantically, he searched for a suitable excuse.

"Well, I would have to pay for the dress, don't I?" He drawled, with a sarcastic expression on his face.

Hermione laughed "There's the Draco that I know and don't love" She said jokingly. Her jesting words caused his heart to temporarily freeze over, and he cursed how this book-loving goddess was able to send him reeling with a few words.

"At least I don't support a team other than my own" Draco challenged.

"There is nothing wrong with the Bulgarian team!" Hermione said, scandalised and gearing up for another debate.

**Umm… Bye?**

**No? Er… Umm… Lemme see…**

**I do own Harry Potter?**

**No?**

**I don't own Harry Potter. There! I said it! Happy now? *Folds arms and sits in the corner***


	5. Arguments are Comforting

**Okay. Here I am. Not that anyone cares, because if I were anyone who read this fic, I would have given up on it. I'm really sorry, but I only just started typing again a few weeks ago. But I have 4 chapters here... in one go...**

***bawls* please forgive me!**

**I've been reveling in the freedom of no schoolwork, but it's all coming back in a few days, soo...**

**I have two more almost done, just a bit more and they're finished. I've got at least 5 separate fics on the computer, but I'm not posting any of them until I'm sure I'll actually be able to update.**

**Again, I am really sorry for leaving it so long. If I have any readers left, I hope they give up on me and go to a fic that's worthwhile. (****Reverse ****psychology... That should work!)**

**Recap:** "Well, I would have to pay for the dress, don't I?" He drawled, with a sarcastic expression on his face.

Hermione laughed "There's the Draco that I know and don't love" She said jokingly. Her jesting words caused his heart to temporarily freeze over, and he cursed how this book-loving goddess was able to send him reeling with a few words.

"At least I don't support a team other than my own" Draco challenged to cover his momentary lapse.

"There is nothing wrong with the Bulgarian team!" Hermione said, scandalized and gearing up for another debate.

The next day, Draco was lounging in the common room when Hermione asked him if she could borrow his owl to send a letter.

"Sure" he said. "But why?"

"I'm going to ask Ginny and Luna to come dress-shopping with me". She answered, tying a letter to his owl's leg.

He screwed up his eyes in mock concentration. "You mean the Weaselette and Loony?" He asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes."

"I understand the Weaselette, sort of, but why Loony?" He asked, genuinely curious. Since she went around wearing radish-earrings, he didn't think Hermione'd want her help on fashion.

"Ginny's clothes are a little… revealing" She said, blushing. "Luna tones it down a bit."

His eyes clouded over slightly as he considered the possibilities.

"Do you have any money for the shopping?" He asked, snapping out of it and preparing for the battle that was coming.

"Yes" She said warily.

"How much?"

"That's none of your business" She retorted; she thought she knew where this was going.

"Well, then, here" He said, hefting a bag of galleons of the table.

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not taking that"

"It's the least I could do" He said, smirking.

"No, the least you could do is nothing!" She said, then stopped. "Wait, the least you could do for what?"

"For helping me discover how many shades the Weasel's face can go" He said, smirking more widely.

She opened her mouth to retort but she was interrupted by the steady chiming of a clock. "Oh! It's time to leave." She said.

Just as she slipped out the door, she turned and gave him a three fingered wave "Buh-bye, Drakie-poo" She said cheekily, and then she was gone.

He sighed in irritation and frustration once he noticed that she had left the pouch of money.

_Brains, beauty and a temper to match. _He thought, _this girl will be the death of me._

**I know, I know, it's too short! This chapter has been giving me a lot of trouble. I put a password on it (nosy sisters snooping around my files), but… I forgot it. I managed to get the rest of the chapters off the fanfiction storage, but this one, I hadn't posted yet, so I had to retype it all from memory.**

**This is the result.**

**Suffice to say, I don't like retyping things.**


	6. Shopping Means Torture

**Recap:** She opened her mouth to retort but she was interrupted by the steady chiming of a clock. "Oh! It's time to leave." She said.

Just as she slipped out the door, she turned and gave him a three fingered wave "Buh-bye, Drakie-poo" She said cheekily, and then she was gone.

He sighed in irritation and frustration once he noticed that she had left the pouch of money.

_Brains, beauty and a temper to match. _He thought, _this girl will be the death of me._

As Hermione escaped the Slytherins presence for the less preferable but more tolerable presence of Ginny & Luna, she pondered what she would tell her friends.

She would have to tell them what she needed the dress for, and when she told them it was for the upcoming dance, they would no doubt demand her date's name.

What would she tell them? Ginny, at least, knew that she had, at the very least, an infatuation with one of the other students.

But before she could dwell upon it, she was already at the Great Hall and accosted by Ginny.

Ginny launched herself at her, wrapping her arms around the brunette in a bone-crushing hug. "Hermione! I haven't seen you in ages!" Guiltily, she realized that the redhead was right. She had been spending all her time pining after Draco Malfoy. She detached herself and looked at her in a manner that eerily reminded her of the Weasely Matriarch. "You haven't been eating properly." She said as she scrutinized her.

"Hello, Hermione" Luna said dreamily, rescuing her from the redhead. She smiled at her friend.

As the trio made their way to Hogsmead, Ginny struck up a conversation.

"Where do you want to go?" She asked, making Hermione cringe internally.

"Umm… Well, I'm going to get a dress for the ball…" Hermione said, preparing herself for the question that came next.

"You're going to the ball? With who!" Ginny questioned.

Hermione relaxed slightly; it was a rather moderate reaction. She was prepared for screaming and—if possible—torture to reveal her date.

"Not telling" She said defensively.

"Oh, come on, Hermione!" The read head complained. "How come you're only getting the dress now?" She asked, trying to get her to reveal something.

It worked. She scowled, and started ranting. "Ron 'forgot' to tell me there was a ball, until the very last minute, where he _oh-so-generously _offered to escort me to the ball, since I didn't have a date" She finished her rant, drawing in a breath and making an attempt to calm herself down.

"Idiot" Ginny said darkly. "Don't worry; I'll make sure he gets a furry 8-legged friend under his pillow tonight". She looked at Hermione. "So who _are _you going with?"

"How about a guessing game?" Luna asked dreamily. They both jumped; they had forgotten she was there. "We ask you a yes or no question, and you answer truthfully" She offered.

"And I'll make sure Ron gets a spider in his bed every night until graduation" Ginny promised.

Hermione looked at the two. "Fine" She said hesitantly. "But when we get back to the castle."

"Deal" Ginny said, and then, dragging Hermione with her, made a beeline to the dress store, with Luna following behind them,

Hermione stared up at the sign on the store, and gulped.

_Madame Ruby's Gowns_

Madame Ruby was one of the most well-known magical dressmakers in Britain. Even the Muggles had heard of her. She was also well known as having the highest prices of all the dressmakers; but it was well justified. Every one of her gowns was magical, even in one small way. Most of the time, though, it was in a fairly large way.

Hermione looked at Ginny in horror, then Luna on her other side. "Why are we here?" Hermione asked.

"We're going to buy you a gown" Ginny said, matter-of-factly. "Or rather, Rune is"

"Rune?"

Ginny fished out a piece of parchment and showed it to Hermione.

_GW,_

_Here are some funds to pay for Hermione's gown. Get her whatever you need at Madame Ruby's._

_I don't care if you have to drag her kicking and screaming into the store; just get her there._

_Hermione,_

_You didn't think that you could get out of this that easily, did you?_

_And don't worry; Madame Ruby doesn't use House Elves to make her dresses. I still don't understand why you insist on pursuing a club named after vomit._

_Don't put up a fuss, or I'll tell Weasley that you're waiting for him to take you to the ball._

_And, please, be careful not to burn a hole in the paper with the glaring I know you're doing right now; I wouldn't want you to get your hands burnt._

At the end of the letter was a rune, instead of a signature. Hermione stared darkly at the letter before her mouth twitched and she smiled, surprising the two girls watching. The rune translated into 'Ferret'.

Hermione gave in and laughed, handing the letter back to Ginny.

"How much did he give you?" Hermione asked, resigned.

"15,000 Galleons" Ginny said in awe. "I guess that this is your boyfriend?"

Hermione blushed deeply "No!" She exclaimed. "We're just friends". Then she remembered what she had said before that.

"15,000 galleons" Hermione grumbled. "15,000 galleons for doing absolutely nothing, except for making Ron's face turn an interesting shade of red" Then she smiled wryly. "I suppose he enjoys it more than I do".

"Aha!" Ginny exclaimed triumphantly, making Hermione jump. "It's someone who doesn't like Ron, and Ron doesn't like him!" She mused to herself.

Hermione rolled her eyes to disguise her brief panic. "Who _does _Ron like?" She asked sarcastically. "Anyone I go out with, he'll immediately hate"

"The exception being if you go out with him" Luna asked in a vaguely questioning voice.

"No." Hermione corrected, her voice hardening slightly. "I will _never _go out with Ron Weasley again!"

"And he's rich" Ginny said, still continuing her musings on Hermione's mystery date.

"Not that rich" Hermione said, trying to cover her tracks.

"Oh, yes, he's _that _rich. He gave us another 10,000 each to buy stuff for ourselves." She said, her eyes gleaming.

"And you accepted it?" She asked, surprised; Ginny was as stubborn as Ron when it came to accepting gifts.

"Hey, I don't like charity, but I can forget that in the sake of fashion" She said, her eyes gleaming.

They entered the store, and Ginny immediately started browsing, while Luna drifted off to the other side of the store.

Hermione wandered through the store, looking at some of the more promising items.

That was interrupted, though, when Ginny came at her with an armful of clothes.

Hermione stared at her friend, and picked up one at random. It was red and gold, with a neckline that virtually split the dress in two.

She shook her head, not bothering to look at the rest. They were all red and gold.

"I don't want red and gold" She told Ginny, and flicked her wand to return all the dresses. "I want silver and gold"

"Aha!" Ginny said again, and Hermione suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. "He's Slytherin!"

She stared at her friend. "How on earth did you figure that out?"

"Silver and gold. House colours" She said matter-of-factly.

Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but then saw Luna coming towards them holding a strapless blue-aqua dress. It had deep blue sequins that sparkled rainbow colours running down the side, like a waterfall, and had a hem that ended in gradual ruffles that looked and moved like waves.

"It's great, Luna!" Hermione said, knowing that the dress wasn't for her. "Go try it on!" She encouraged.

Luna smiled and drifted off to the change rooms.

"I got my dress first because I knew it would take the shortest." Luna explained.

After Luna tried on the dress (sure enough, it looked perfect on her), Ginny and Hermione continued looking for Hermione's dress while Luna drifted off again.

Ginny kept throwing dresses at Hermione, and each was much too revealing for her. One was even transparent!

Then, Luna came at them again, saving Hermione from her perpetual torture. This time she was holding out a deep red dress with a subtly curving neckline and a slit down the side. The magical effect, when Ginny tried it on, was that it increased body heat, and fit perfectly. It didn't sound like much, but Ginny said that it was better than walking around in a freezing cold dress that wouldn't fit after a couple of months.

Hermione wasn't sure she was being entirely truthful, though, judging by the blush on her friend's cheeks.

And so they went back to searching for a dress for Hermione. It was remarkably hard to find a silver and gold dress that didn't make the wearer look like they're wearing a coat of sparkly paint.

Ginny would pick up a pile of clothes, and Hermione would pick out those that she knew she wouldn't wear. Then she tried the rest on, and decided whether or not to get it, and then send it back to the rack. She was contemplating picking a dress just so she could leave already.

Then, a shining beacon of light: Luna came again. She didn't have a single dress, however, but instead a neat stack of clothes.

Hermione went through them with more patience, knowing that Luna's fashion sense may not be used regularly, but when it was, every male in the room started drooling. When paired with Ginny, they fainted and asked the woman in question to marry him.

There were ten dresses in all. This was significantly smaller than the number of clothes she'd tried on already. She narrowed it down to five dresses she'd try.

The first was a nice conservative dress with long, trailing sleeves the color of silver, and a gold body that shone like jewels.

The next was a sleeveless number that dipped at the sides. It was gold with a silver print of a vine that moved and grew like it was alive. Once the entire thing was covered in the silver of the vine, then a gold vine started growing, and on it went, in a continuous cycle.

The third had straps that hung horizontally off the shoulder. It was silver fading into gold with a gold pattern on the neckline and a silver pattern on the hem.

The fourth was meant to hang off the wearer's shoulders in ruffles that gradually lessened to a flowing bottom.

The other dresses just didn't fit her, but not in the literal sense of the word. There was only the one left.

The last was the one that she fell in love with. It had long sleeves, but left her shoulders exposed. It started off with a red haze that faded into gold. It had a pattern of silver and green intertwined vines trailing along the sides and sleeves.

She knew, though that it wouldn't look good on her. Maybe on someone who was actually pretty, like Lavender, or Parvati, but not her. On her, it would be shockingly obvious that she didn't belong in the dress.

Just like she didn't belong with Draco.

She rubbed her eyes in an effort to stop the tears pricking at the corners.

"Come on, Hermione!" Ginny said impatiently. She was still waiting for her to come out and try on the last dress.

She sighed, and put the gown on, closed her eyes so she couldn't see what she looked like, and stepped outside the dressing room.

She heard Ginny's gasp and Luna's approving sigh.

'_They've seen me, and they know that it's the perfect dress, for someone else_' she thought, resigned, and opened her eyes.

"Hermione! This is the dress!" Ginny squealed, and Luna nodded.

"Really?" She asked, startled, and ducked back into the change room to look in the mirror.

And promptly rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

It fit perfectly on her, in both senses of the word. It fit in all the right places, and matched wonderfully with her hair and chocolate brown eyes.

She had to blink for a moment to remind herself that this was _her_.

She took the dress off and exited the dressing room.

Then she looked at the price tag.

"10 thousand galleons?" She exclaimed, and then started rapidly shaking her head. "No, no, _no_"

"Now, now, Hermione" Ginny said reprovingly, taking the dress from her. "Do you want me to call Rune?"

She opened her mouth, then remembered his threat. There was _no way _that she was accompanying Ron Weasely _anywhere_!

Even if it meant buying a ten thousand galleon dress…

She sighed and put her hands up in surrender.

"Ok, fine" she said, defeated.

Ginny cheered and led Hermione to the register, after picking up a pair of silver strappy heels.

Hermione balked. "Ginny, I can't wear _those_!". She'd probably end up amputating someone's toes if she tried to dance in heels that long!

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Fine" she said. "We'll ask the clerk to shorten them"

They put their purchases on the counter in front of the clerk, and made the request. She was an old woman with a twinkle in her eyes that made her suspect a relation to Dumbledore.

"Hello, dears" She said in a cheery voice. "Is this the lot?"

Hermione nodded, then thought of a question. "What's the magical effect for this gown?" She asked, pointing to her dress.

She examined the dress, then brightened. "You have nice taste, young lady!" She said, smiling. "As long as you are wearing this dress, you are guaranteed to dance with your true love"

"My true love?" She asked skeptically.

"Don't sound so skeptical, now." She said, smiling. "Love is very powerful"

Hermione stared at the woman. It seemed like a very Dumbledore-esque thing, what she had just said.

She was pulled out of the shop, though, by Ginny and Luna. They had already paid for their purchases.

She looked back at where the woman had been as she left the store with her two friends.

But she was gone.


	7. Just Civil

**Recap:** Hermione stared at the woman. It seemed like a very Dumbledore-esque thing, what she had just said.

She was pulled out of the shop, though, by Ginny and Luna. They had already paid for their purchases.

She looked back at where the woman had been as she left the store with her two friends.

But she was gone.

Hermione sighed. They were in the Head's Dormitory, and in a few minutes, she would have to play a guessing game that undoubtedly lead to her revealing her silly crush on Draco Malfoy.

The door to Draco's rooms opened, and out came the object of her obsession: Draco Malfoy.

He raised an eyebrow at her friends, who were ahead of her. "Slumberparty" She said, making a face.

He nodded, then smirked. "Have fun, Granger"

She glared at him, not noticing that Luna and Ginny had stopped to watch the exchange.

"You know what, Malfoy?" She asked a sickly sweet voice. "How about you join us?"

They all stared at her.

She dropped the voice. "If I have to endure this, then so do you!"

"Why?" He asked. "They're you're friends" He pointed out.

"Because there is no way in hell that I am being Ginny's only victim" She said, glaring at him.

"Errr…" Ginny said.

Hermione turned to her, coloring slightly. "How about," She began, trying to ignore their surprise at her decent conversation with her rival. "instead of a guessing game, Truth or Dare?"

Ignoring Draco's noise of protest, she continued. "How about Harry and Neville play as well?"

"Granger" Draco interrupted, "If you want me to spend more than twenty minutes in the same room as Potty, then you may as well give up now"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Exactly how mature is that nickname? Comparing the savior of the world to a toilet? How old are you, five?"

He opened his mouth to retort, then thought it over again. He threw his hands up in the air in a gesture of defeat. "Fine, whatever. But if someone dies, I cannot be held accountable" he added.

"I'll get Neville" Luna said dreamily, drifting out the door.

"I'll get Harry" Ginny said, a wicked gleam in her eyes. She seemed to have gotten over her surprise.

She was starting to regret this.

Draco entered her room, lounging against the wall. "Remind me again why I'm doing this?" He asked.

"Because" She said, glaring at him "This is your fault!"

He stared at her, nonplussed.

"You sent that stupid note, and now she won't let up about who I'm going to the ball with!" She said, annoyed.

"And why don't you just tell her?" He asked, as if it were an obvious answer.

"Because" She said, wearily, as if she was talking to a three-year old. "Ginny will then think that we are dating, the whole of Griffindor will hate me for being friends with a Slytherin, and Slytherin will hate you for being friends with a Griffindor"

He blinked. "Point taken"

Just then, Ginny and Luna entered, towing Neville and Harry behind them.

"Uh, Ginny?" Harry asked hesitantly. "What exactly am I doing here?"

Hermione stifled a giggle as Ginny explained. "Well, Hermione won't tell us who her boyfriend is—"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Hermione said, blushing. "He's just a friend!". She was very aware that he was in the room.

Ginny waved a hand. "So you say" She turned to Harry again. "So we decided to play a guessing game to force it out of her. Then she ran into Malfoy, and invited him to play Truth or Dare with you two as well, so all the attention wouldn't be on her."

Harry blinked. "Uh, alright. But why isn't Ron here?"

Hermione stopped giggling, and Draco spoke up for the first time since Harry entered the room. "Weasely is an idiot that never knows when to give up." He had a surprising venom in his voice.

Harry was about to open his mouth to argue, before he noticed that Hermione was nodding her head along with him. He stared at her in disbelief.

"Ron _forgot _to tell me that there was a ball, and offered to be my date since I didn't have one". The sarcasm in her voice was clear.

"Sorry, Hermione" Harry said "Ron can be a real idiot. Soon he'll pull his head out of his arse and apologize"

Draco opened his mouth to ask how many years he's had it stuck there, but Hermione silenced him with a single look.

Harry looked at her. "Hermione," He asked, "Could I talk to you for a moment?"

Hermione sighed. She knew this was coming. He followed her back into the dormitory; by then, everyone else was in Hermione's bedroom, waiting for the game to start. Or end, in some cases.

"Why're you being so nice to him?" Harry asked in a low voice.

"Harry, it wouldn't be logical to live in close quarters for a year while hating each other" She said, shrugging as she prepared her response. "He's civil to me, and I'm civil to him"

Harry looked at her suspiciously. "Okay" he said slowly, then let his shoulders slump. "I'm just worried about you"

Hermione frowned. She hadn't seen Harry in so long. She hugged him. "I haven't seen you for so long"

Harry smiled. "It's not my fault you never visit us" He teased, and she smiled.

"I'm sorry" She said sincerely. If, a year ago, someone told her that she was going to be forgetting about everyone else in favor of Draco Malfoy, she would have laughed.

"Okay!" Said Ginny, a wicked gleam in her eye. "Let's start!"


	8. Veritaserum

**Recap:** Hermione frowned. She hadn't seen Harry in so long. She hugged him. "I haven't seen you for so long"

Harry smiled. "It's not my fault you never visit us" He teased, and she smiled.

"I'm sorry" She said sincerely. If, a year ago, someone told her that she was going to be forgetting about everyone else in favor of Draco Malfoy, she would have laughed.

"Okay!" Said Ginny, a wicked gleam in her eye. "Let's start!"

They were all in Hermione's room; Hermione was sitting on her bed, Draco sitting on the other side, Harry and Ginny were sitting together on the floor, and Neville and Luna were sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"Wait," Draco drawled. "How about a drinking game? It's hardly any worth otherwise."

Hermione wrinkled her nose.

"Besides, it'd be fun to see how much of a lightweight Granger is" He said.

She glared at him. "Fine! Refuse a Truth question, take a drink, refuse a Dare, take two. And Butterbeer only!"

"_Accio Butterbeer_" He said, with a smile on his face that made her suspicious. Bottles of Butterbeer zoomed through the open door to rest in the center of the room.

"One drink now to get us started" Ginny said, that same smile on her face. Hermione was beginning to think they were plotting together.

She cautiously took a sip after everyone else had. It had the same flavor, but with something else. She rolled the taste around in her mouth before it hit her.

"Veritaserum!" She accused, standing up and glaring at both Draco and Ginny.

"Of course" Draco said, leaning back with a self-satisfied smirk on his face. "What's the point if you could lie?"

"Did the rest of you know about this?" Hermione asked, glaring at Harry, Luna and Neville.

"I didn't!" Harry said defensively, holding his hands up. Neville looked guilty, and Luna looked like she always did.

Hermione sighed and flopped back down in her seat.

"You're the one who started this" Draco reminded her smugly.

"Whatever" Hermione said.

"I'll go first!" Ginny said mischievously. Hermione closed her eyes. This was going to be a long night.


	9. Invasion of Privacy

Recap:** "You're the one who started this" Draco reminded her smugly.**

"Whatever" Hermione said.

"I'll go first!" Ginny said mischievously. Hermione closed her eyes. This was going to be a long night.

Draco was watching Hermione from the window at the Owlery. It was admittedly stalker-ish behavior, but he had a good reason. He had to be absolutely sure she was in Hogsmead before he began his plans.

He made his way back to his bedroom and spoke the password that removed the wards. He removed the diary from behind the bookshelf, and locked and warded the door.

Sitting at his desk, he opened the book to the next entry.

I'm leaving for Hogwarts tomorrow. I suppose I should be excited, but what was really new?

I will be seeing Harry, I guess. But I'll also be seeing Ron.

He's been such a jerk lately—ever since we started dating, really. I did like him, but it was friendship confused with attraction. I did have a small crush on him, but after a few months I realized we were better off as friends. I was going to tell him, before Lavender told me what she's been doing with Ron.

Ron said sorry, but even though I was going to let him down anyway, it still hurt. How can you trust someone who cheated on you?

Then, when I rejected him, he dated Parvati. I really wouldn't mind, except he's been flirting with me and asking me out every chance he gets. It's really unfair to Parvati, not to mention Lavender.

I've ignored him so far, but soon he's going to push me over the edge, and I'm going to try out a new curse I've learnt…

—Hermione

_There was nothing really new here, so he began on the next entry._

Dear Diary,

Today was…interesting.

I was wrong—it wasn't Ron. It was Malfoy. So it must just be coincidence that the Heads have all married. There is no way that Dumbledore would want me to marry _Malfoy_. Even Dumbledore can't think that we would make a good match.

When I saw him in the Head compartment, my first thought was that… well… this is my diary, and unless I am incredibly careless, no one will read this. My first thought was that he looked… a lot better. I stood there, staring at him, for about twenty seconds before I looked at the Head badge on his robes. Okay, I admit it, he looked hot.

It's a good thing he didn't see me until I saw the badge—I would never hear the end of it.

Then I realized what that meant. I immediately asked him who he stole the badge off—admittedly rude, but what else was I supposed to think?

He replied that he didn't, and some other comment about my blood status.

After we did our Head duties—well, I did, anyway. I wasn't really sure about Malfoy; I was trying as hard as I could not to look at him—we arrived at the castle, and Professor McGonagall showed us where our Dormitory was. It was a very nice setup, but I suppose they would have to have a nice room if the people in it had to live with each other.

I did a little reading, and almost all of the heads have been from conflicting houses; Griffindor and Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, sometimes Hufflepuff and Slytherin, you get the idea.

We would have to share a bathroom and a dorm. There's a passage that leads to the Room of Requirement, and a private library. The library is quite well stocked, but this year I'm not going to spend all my time reading books.

Yours,

Hermione

_Draco raised his eyebrows, wondering what she meant by the last comment, and internally ignoring what she had thought about him. So she thought he was attractive, so what? It didn't mean anything. He shouldn't get his hopes up._

Dear Diary,

Draco Malfoy is one of the most self-centered, big-headed people I know.

_Yep. He shouldn't have gotten his hopes up._

He thinks that because he's a _pureblood _he gets to use the bathroom first in the morning! I should have expected it, but it's just logical for me to go first. He took forever with it, and _I'm _the girl! I suppose he needs a lot of time—and hairgel—to keep his head looking that awful. He looked a lot better without that crap, but I suppose it's good he's looking like someone polished his head. Ron would never forgive me if I even looked at him. Huh. Maybe I should look at him.

Whatever. This year, I'm going to be different. I'll have to act the same around Harry and Ron, but to Malfoy, I'll be like I used to be. Fun.

I can't be fun around the boys because they know I'm usually not. Well, not in the past few years. But around people that don't know me, like Malfoy… I can do whatever I want. He wouldn't be able to tell the difference: he never knew me. And if he did figure it out, no one would believe him over the golden girl of Gryffindor.

_Draco stopped reading. So that's why she was so different this year. And why she talked to him. She didn't like him—she just wanted to use him, like a test._

_His chest tightened, and he flipped to the last entry, just to give himself something to do._

I think I love him. I don't know. Is it love, when you can't picture a life without someone?

But he could never love me back. I'm plain, and I'm boring. He has plenty of other, much more beautiful, much more interesting girls that would love to have him. And we have nothing in common. Why would he want me, when he could have so much better?

If, a year ago, someone had told me I would fall in love with Draco Malfoy, I would have laughed and asked them what they were doing out of St. Mungo's.


	10. Truth or Dare

**Recap:** "You're the one who started this" Draco reminded her smugly.

"Whatever" Hermione said.

"I'll go first!" Ginny said mischievously. Hermione closed her eyes. This was going to be a long night.

"Truth or Dare, Hermione!"

"Truth" She sighed, knowing what was coming.

"Who are you taking to the ball?"

She waited for the unavoidable answer to pour out of her mouth, but it didn't. Perhaps he had modified it so she could only answer a question if she wished to?

She smiled smugly and took a sip from the bottle.

Ginny frowned. "I'll get it out of you somehow!" She warned.

"Truth or Dare, Draco?" Hermione asked.

'Draco?' Harry mouthed to Ginny. She was calling him by his first name, now?

He considered for a moment. "Truth"

"Why do you have Butterbeer spiked with modified Veritaserum in your room?"

"Because Pansy had the same idea you did, and she wanted to play with this stuff" He said with a grimace. "My turn. Truth or Dare, Hermione?"

Harry's eyes grew wider. They were both on a first name basis?

She eyed him warily. "Dare"

"I dare you to tell Krum the main reason you stay in touch with him is to annoy the Weasel"

She glared at him as she leant forward and took two sips. "You're a jerk"

"So you've told me" He said lazily.

"Okay, my turn now." She said, and she had a sadistic smile on her face. "I'm getting payback."

"I'm not afraid. Dare" Draco said languidly.

She smiled wider. "I dare you to go kiss Pansy Parkinson"

His eyes widened, then relaxed. "Fine"

"On the mouth. With tongue." She refined clearly.

He went pale. "So help me Granger, there is no way I am _ever _going to go near _her _again" He spat, and then took two long glugs from the bottle, as if to ward off the images.

She smiled wickedly, but inside she was wondering what she would have done if he had said yes. He had said he had no interest in Parkinson whatsoever, but feelings weren't always rational.

Everyone was staring at their banter now, and Ginny had a contemplative look on his face.

"Alright, Potter" Draco sneered "Truth or Dare?"

He stared him straight in the eye and said bravely said "Dare"

Hermione shook her head for her friend; if there was anything he should know, it was to never accept a dare from Draco Malfoy.

"Always the Gryffindor mentality, Potter" Draco sneered. "I dare you to announce in the Great Hall tomorrow at breakfast, that you'll be having a press signing and giving out autographs." He refined every detail to be sure that there were no loopholes.

Hermione could have laughed at the look on her friend's face.

An hour later, and Hermione and Draco had the most alcohol, followed by Ginny and Harry, then Neville and Luna. Somewhere along the line, Draco had switched the Butterbeer for Firewhiskey, so Hermione was more than slightly tipsy.

Draco and Hermione had spent most of the game choosing each other, mainly for revenge. They had grown increasingly more relaxed with the more Firewhiskey they drank, until they were talking to each other like the others weren't even in the room; although she wasn't sure if arguing counted as talking.

"Okay," Ginny said. "Truth or Dare, Hermione?"

"Dare" she said, not afraid of the other witch. But Harry's solemnly shaking head told her she should be.

"I dare you to kiss Malfoy" she declared.

Hermione's jaw dropped, Draco's eyebrow rose reflexively and Harry stared at his girlfriend as if she had gone mad.

"Fine!" she said finally, regaining her composure. She rose and unsteadily made her way over to the Slytherin, who was watching the proceedings with a confused look on his face.

She sat down next to him and glared at Ginny, who had a wicked smile on her face, before pressing her lips to his.

She got a glance at his shocked expression before she closed her eyes. She knew he wasn't expecting her to go through with it, so it must have been pure reflex that made him kiss her back.

He cradled the back of her head, and she threw her arms around his neck, vaguely aware of the sound of the blood pumping in her ears and her friends, still watching.

His lips were so soft, and when his tongue touched her lips, she parted them willingly.

Eventually they had to break apart for oxygen, and she panted in the sweet air, one hand raised to touch her lips.


	11. Hangover

**Recap:** He cradled the back of her head, and she threw her arms around his neck, vaguely aware of the sound of the blood pumping in her ears and her friends, still watching.

His lips were so soft, and when his tongue touched her lips, she parted them willingly.

Eventually they had to break apart for oxygen, and she panted in the sweet air, one hand raised to touch her lips.

Hermione groaned as the unwelcome sunshine invaded her sleep. She threw her arm over her eyes to ward off the unwholesome light.

She heard snoring, and she clutched her hand to her suddenly-aching head. "Please be quiet" she pleaded to whoever was listening.

She still had her eyes closed, but the snoring stopped. The pounding in her head, unfortunately, did not.

"I'm dying" she moaned, clutching her head as she blearily opened her eyes. She was in her room, sleeping in her bed. But there was a warm something lying next to her. It was Malfoy. She almost jumped out of her bed screaming, before she noticed they were both clothed, and lying on top of the covers. They must have passed out last night. Her head gave a particularly vicious throb at having to think, and she groaned, grabbing a pillow to lay over her head.

"Make that two of us" she heard a Draco say in a muffled voice. He was lying face down on her bed.

"_Accio_" he said, waving his wand in the general direction of the door. Two bottles of purple liquid came soaring through the door at them, and hit him on the head. She would have laughed, if that didn't make her head hurt more.

He groaned and thrust one of the potions at her, still not opening his eyes to the outside world. "Hangover potion" he muttered, drowning his own. She accepted it, swallowing it down in one.

Her head instantly felt better, and judging by the way Draco sat up, so did his.

"So you just happen to have Hangover Cures in your bedroom?" Hermione asked.

He nodded and looked around. "How did I get here?" He asked.

"Ugh, I dunno. I think it was the Truth or Dare—we must have fallen asleep and they left us here" Hermione rationalized.

She opened the door, peering hesitantly out at the common room, half expecting to see Harry or Ginny snoring on the couch. Nope.

She sighed and walked to the kitchen, waving her wand to put on a pot of coffee. She remembered most of it, but her memory cut off after the kiss. She dropped the coffee mug she was holding.

The kiss! She had kissed Draco! She bent hastily to retrieve the shards of pottery, distractedly casting a _Reparo_.

She touched a hand to her lips, her cheeks turning bright red at the memory. He was a good kisser.

Did he remember it? Did _she _remember it, or was it just a dream? But no, her subconscious couldn't dream up something like that.

She bit her lip, knowing that Ginny would be interrogating her all day. She would be avoiding everyone except Luna and Neville. She cursed herself for the idea of the stupid Truth or Dare, cursed Draco for bringing Firewhisky into the game, and cursed Ginny for making the dare.

Hermione pushed the thoughts into the back of her mind. She would ignore them, she told herself firmly.

She turned off the kettle, deciding she would have a shower before breakfast, and headed for the bathroom. The bathroom connected to the Common room, Draco's bedroom and her bedroom. She undressed and stepped under the shower, letting the hot water soothe her muscles and calm her mind.

She stepped out, wrapping a towel around her body. She cursed as she remembered that she Draco was in her room, and so were her clothes. There was nothing for it, so she took a deep breath and held the towel firmly in place as she opened the door to her bedroom.

She peered out. Draco was sitting up on her bed, managing to look like the handsome aristocrat he was, even with the bed head and rumpled clothing.

Hermione stood in the doorway as he glanced over her. Was it her imagination, or did she see a flash of appreciation in his eyes. She shook her head to clear it, and got to the point. "I need to change my clothes" she said, avoiding his eyes. "Out!"

"Really, Granger, I think I'm just fine here" he leant back and relaxed in her bed, the picture of arrogance.

She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to ignore the way her heart thumped faster. "Out, Malfoy" she repeated, pointing her wand at him.

He snorted out a laugh, but stood up anyway. He passed her on his way out, and he whispered unnecessarily in her ear. She shivered as she felt his hot breath on her throat. "You're not that bad a kisser, Granger" he said, and then he was gone.

She stared after him, trying, and failing, to regulate the speed of her beating heart.

**Okay, I know this is short, but this felt like the best place to cut if off. And if I know me, I'm probably going to post at least one other chapter with this, so…**

**That's assuming anyone's still reading this. I'm pretty much writing to myself, aren't I? No one reads this anymore *sniff*.**

**Actually, no one read it in the first place. And I really couldn't understand it. I mean I had this other fic, that I absoloutly hated, and that got loads of reviews, but this one, that I really like? Nothing. You people are fickle! Hmph! XD**

**But seriously, thanks for those who did review! Thanks!**


	12. Veritaserum Again

**Recap:** He snorted out a laugh, but stood up anyway. He passed her on his way out, and he whispered unnecessarily in her ear. She shivered as she felt his hot breath on her throat. "You're not that bad a kisser, Granger" he said, and then he was gone.

She stared after him, trying, and failing, to regulate the speed of her beating heart.

Hermione spent most of the day hiding from her beds. She saw Harry and Ginny coming; she ducked into a broom cupboard. And then was late for Charms while she was waiting for them to leave. She spotted Draco's platinum-blond head coming towards her; she took a secret passage to Ancient Runes, and was late for that as well.

Her entire day compromised of mostly this, and she had been late to almost all her classes. She hadn't managed to dodge Harry in the classes they shared, though, so she had spent most of the class not even looking in his direction. Her last class for the day was the one she was dreading, though; Potions.

There was no way she'd be able to avoid Draco, and she shuddered to think what Professor Snape might say if he caught her distracted. They also happened to be Potions partners, so there was no possible way she could avoid talking to Draco, short of not showing up entirely. But there was no way she was doing that; Professor Snape would never let her live it down.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed past the doors to the Potions dungeons. She had been late this time, as well, since she had spent most of the free period hiding from Ginny in the Prefect's Bathroom.

Harry looked at her as she entered, but she looked away. She reluctantly sought out Draco, and stiffly joined him at his table, setting up his equipment.

"Ah, the Golden Girl has finally decided to deign us with her presence" he sneered. "10 points from Gryffindor for being late" he snapped, and then gestured to the board. A set of instructions appeared on the board.

"Today, we will be preparing a very lethal potion, if brewed incorrectly" his eyes swept over the classroom. "We will be brewing Veritaserum. Instructions are on the board. You will test your potion on one of your classmates when an hour is up"

He sat down, and Hermione went to retrieve the ingredients needed, not bothering to talk to Draco. She sat down rigidly and methodically began preparing some of the ingredients while Draco stirred the potion and adjusted the flame. It was a well-practiced routine they had established, since Professor Snape had paired them as Potions partners.

Finally, when the hour was up, Hermione and Draco's table looked like it had the best potion, but Harry and Ron's was a close second. He winked at Hermione while he was supposed to be adding the powdered beetle eyes, and the potion turned a nasty shade of green. Harry salvaged it, though, glaring at Ron.

They all lined up to give Snape their potion, and he examined each with a scornful look on his face. Once everyone was done, he leaned back lazily.

"Now, the classmates on the right will be testing one partner, while the table on the left will be testing the other; there will be one tester and one subject at each table" he said, smirking at them.

Everyone turned to look, and Hermione groaned. On the right was Harry and Ron's table. The left was Dean Tomas and Pansy Parkinson, but Hermione was more worried about Ron.

Draco turned to her. "I'll take the potion if you want" he offered, but Hermione shook her head.

"No. That'll just show Ron I've got something to hide, and he'll think it's about him" she said, gritting her teeth. "And it might be Harry testing me" she added hopefully

On the right table, Harry and Ron were arguing over who would test their table. Before they came to a decision, Snape called them all to test their potions now.

Most of the potions worked, and she was betting a few people were regretting it. Seamus had admitted he had a crush on Professor McGonagall, and Justin Flinch-Fletchity had said he had once kissed Pansy on a dare, and _enjoyed_ it.

Finally, it was Hermione and Draco's turn. Hermione stood up first, trying to conceal her shaking hands. Immediately, Ron jumped up, and Snape gestured for him to come forward before Harry could tug him back down.

"Ah, the dunderhead and the golden girl" Snape sneered, handing the potion to Hermione. "Weasely, you may ask five questions before the effects wear off"

Hermione drowned the flask in one gulp without looking at Ron. She really had her doubts about doing this, considering the last time she was involved with Veritaserum.

Ron looked her up and down in an obvious manner, and leered at her. She fought the urge to slap him.

"How do you feel about me, Hermione?" he asked in a tone that suggested he already knew the answer.

Hermione felt smug at the fact he would be publicly rejected. Maybe now he would finally take no for an answer.

"I would rather trust Professor Snape than you, Ronald. I border on hating you, and I will never consider you in a romantic light as long as I have my own mind." That was all she wanted to say, but the potion made her go on. She was beginning to regret their perfectly-made potion. "I cannot see a situation where I will ever trust you, and if you continue to harass me, then you will never be my friend again, either. If you do continue to act as you have done recently, then I plan to curse you in a very unfriendly way"

There. She struggled to keep her mouth shut before she told exactly what she would do, and to her relief, her mind won out. But there were still four more questions to go.

Hermione watched as Ron's face twisted angrily, and then relax slightly. "But you did like it when we were together" he smirked.

"No" she said truthfully, the Veritaserum interpreting his words as a question. "I never felt any passion for you, and I've never felt more for you than a brother."

"Why?" he barked out, his face twisting again with rage.

Another answer spilled from her lips before she could stop it. "Because even before we kissed, I always thought of you as a brother. I believe you are pig-headed and insensitive, but I thought that maybe I could grow to love you. I knew I was wrong after a few weeks, and I was trying to figure out how to tell you when you cheated on me" she said, the potion ignoring her attempts to stifle the flow of words. She heard a few gasps around the room, and a small murmur of conversation.

Two questions left. Her answers had taken long, though, so maybe the effects would wear off before he could ask the question she was dreading.

"Who, then! Who do you love?" he snarled, and everyone seemed hinged on her answer.

She clapped her hand over her mouth to stop the truth, but he grabbed her wrist, dragging it away from her mouth. Draco leapt up, his eyes glittering with hatred and concern, and suddenly Ron was blasted forcefully through the room.

Draco advanced to stand in front of her protectively, but the rest of the class was staring at Hermione, agape. In the brief moment that Ron had managed to pry her hand from her mouth, an answer had slipped from her lips.

"Draco Malfoy"

**Um, yeah, soo…. I know, I'm a slow updater. Going on a holiday soon, so no updates then. Doubt I'd be updating anyway, I'm lousy at this stuff.**

**Still, for anyone that's still reading this, I'll update.**

**On another note: BETA NEEDED, PEOPLE! Seriously, most of the time I type during the night, so my brain ends up being mushed, and then when I check it later it has lots of errors.**


	13. A Woman Scorned

**Thank you all for the reviews! I was very surprised when I got any, since I really wasn't sure if anyone was reading this. But thanks for letting me know that someone else **_**is **_**reading this, and giving me a reason to update.**

**Recap:** Draco advanced to stand in front of her protectively, but the rest of the class was staring at Hermione, agape. In the brief moment that Ron had managed to pry her hand from her mouth, an answer had slipped from her lips.

"Draco Malfoy"

**A Woman Scorned**

There was a stunned silence. Even Snape couldn't think of a sarcastic comment to say. Draco was staring at her, only just realizing what she had said.

His lips parted, and his words came out in a disbelieving whisper. "You love me?" he asked.

Hermione did the only thing that came to mind. She ran. She ran to the Head common room, her mind numb with the consequences of her unwilling confession. Harry would hate her. Ginny would hate her. Draco would hate her. They would never forgive her.

She reached the common rooms, blurting out the password before rushing in. She needed to do something, but she couldn't think about what had just happened.

Hermione raised her wand "_Accio Diary_" she cast in a shaky voice. Two books flew to meet her, one from Draco's room and one from hers.

Surprised out of her numbness, she frowned at the two identical books in front of her. She grabbed them both, turning them over in her hands. Two diaries... one a duplicate...? She flipped open the cover of one, looking for the mark that couldn't be duplicated.

It was there. An intricate detail that she had painstakingly carved into the paper with her wand, ensuring that if a duplicate was to be made, then the mark wouldn't be reproduced. She opened the cover of the other, looking for the same mark. It wasn't there. In its place were two words, the same two words that she had just spoken.

"Draco Malfoy" she breathed, looking at the paper as the pieces clicked together. He had taken her diary. He had duplicated it. And he had read it.

She came to this conclusion just as the door clicked open. She whirled around to face a concerned Draco.

She advanced slowly, her hair cackling with electricity and her free hand itching towards her wand.

"You!" she hissed venomously. He took a step back, his eyes darting around and alighting on the books in her hands. A look of understanding flashed in his eyes, quickly followed by fear.

She advanced upon him, shoving the books at him. He dropped them on the floor, but Hermione paid no heed. "You read my diary!" she accused.

All she could think was that he was horrible. He had read her diary, and still led her on like that. He _knew _how she felt already, and he didn't drop her immediately. He led her on, and now he was going to pay.

She threw herself at him, forgetting entirely about her wand, kicking, scratching and clawing any part of him she could reach. He yelped and tried to fight her off, but her rage was enough to make her cling on to his flesh and attempt to rip it out of his body. Finally, he grabbed his wand and muttered a spell that blasted her back several paces.

She looked at him with crazed eyes and began throwing anything within arm's reach at him. He yelped and used his wand to deflect them. There were various crashes of vases and furniture as they narrowly missed the pureblood.

"You! I thought you had changed, you snotty-" she threw a vase "little" she hurled a silver candleholder at him "lying ferret boy!" she screamed, looking around for something else to throw.

She reached for her wand, finally remembering that she was a witch. Just as she was about to hex him, several people tumbled through the still-open doorway.

It was Harry, Ginny and Ron. They all surveyed the destructive scene. There was broken furniture and items strewn around the place, Draco at its centre, holding out his wand with a severely frightened look on his face. Hermione stood at the other end of the room, holding out her wand and breathing heavily as her hair fizzed all around her.

Hermione barely took any notice of them. "My diary! You bigoted bastard" she screeched like a banshee.

The rest of the students that were in potions filed into the room just as she said this, looking at the scene as well. Most of the girls stepped forward. "He read your diary?" Lavender asked.

No one paid her any attention. Draco took a step forward. "Hermione, it's not what you think" he pleaded, but Hermione was too far gone to care.

"_Lacessores_" she screeched, waving her wand in a figure-eight pattern. All the items that she had thrown wavered, and then rose in the air. The shards of broken pottery, bits of fractured furniture wood, everything rose in the air and then made a beeline for the startled pureblood.

He yelped, looking around as the items flew towards him. He ducked just as a jagged piece of glass went for his head. He ran for his room, waving his wand to open the door as he ran for it. He jumped inside and slammed the door after him as the items banged themselves against the door.

Hermione turned to the door, screaming over the thumping over the items. "Come out you coward!"

His frantic voice sounded over the noise "Hermione, please, listen to me!" he pleaded.

"Why should I? You've tormented me ever since I came here! I finally thought you'd changed, and then you do this!"

There was no reply but a startled noise. Apparently some of the things had found the window in his bedroom.

She breathed deeply, only just noticing the people in the room staring at her.

Normally she would be embarrassed, but these were not normal circumstances. "What are you staring at?" she asked.

Almost everyone fled from the room, with the exception of Ron, Ginny and Harry.

Ron was the first to speak. "So you've come to your senses and decided to go with me after all?" he asked smugly.

She glared at him. "No, you idiot!" she said. "You're even worse than him!" she said. She raised her wand again, another curse in her mind.

"_Invito Aranea_" she cast. Thousands of little hairy spiders flew out of her wand, heading for the red-headed idiot. His eyes widened as they scuttled for him, and he ran out of the room. The spiders followed him, a huge hoard.

There was only Harry, Ginny and Hermione in the room now.

Hermione collapsed into an armchair that had been too heavy for her to throw, exhausted. She was still furious at the both of them, but those spell had taken a lot out of her, especially with her emotional state.

**Overreacting? Maybe. But I need this to happen for the (admittedly flawed) plot to work.**


	14. You're Wrong

**I think this only has a few more chapters to go before I finish it, and maybe either a prologue or a sequel, since I love those types of things. I want to get this finished, since I'm kind of losing my motivation for this (seeing a whole lot of flaws in it now, especially in the later chapters), so I want to finish it before I abandon it completely.**

**Sorry for the cliffy in the chapter before last, I just couldn't help myself. **

**Recap:** "_Invito Aranea_" she cast. Thousands of little hairy spiders flew out of her wand, heading for the red-headed idiot. His eyes widened as they scuttled for him, and he ran out of the room. The spiders followed him, a huge hoard.

There was only Harry, Ginny and Hermione in the room now.

Hermione collapsed into an armchair that had been too heavy for her to throw, exhausted. She was still furious at the both of them, but those spell had taken a lot out of her, especially with her emotional state.

**Chapter 14**

For a few moments, Draco was speechless. He had read the same thing in her diary, of course, but some part of him still believed it was a mistake, or a lie. To hear her say it now…

He was snapped out of his stupor, however, when the brunette tore herself out of the dungeon, running like a bat out of hell. His immediate reaction was to run after her, but he was stalled by the other students. They rose up like a tide, asking questions and speculating answers in the same breath. They blocked his access to Hermione.

He brandished his wand, and they all stumbled back a few paces, as if hit by an invisible force field. He ran through the clear path it made, hurrying to get to the Common Room.

He opened the door, blurting out the password. He stepped in the doorway, but froze immediately at the sight that awaited him.

She was obviously angry. Her hair cackled with electricity, and though tears glittered on her face, her eyes were cold, harsh, and narrowed in fury. At him.

His eyes darted to behind her, where he spotted two horribly familiar books in her clenched hands

"You!" she hissed.

She strode forward and shoved the books at him. He made no move to take them, and they fell on the floor, the leather-bound cover hitting the hardwood floor with an ominous thump.

"You read my diary!" she accused, her eyes flashing.

He opened his mouth to defend himself, but she was already on him, attacking, kicking and scratching any part of him she could reach. He tried to fight her off, knowing that he needed to calm her down to be able to talk to her and explain himself. Her rage must've given her more determination, though, because she held stubbornly on, digging into his flesh. Finally, he grabbed his wand and muttered a quick spell. She stumbled back a few feet, just like those annoying students had.

That seemed to make her even angrier, and she started throwing random objects at him. She seemed to completely have forgotten about her magic, and he was grateful for that. He waved his wand at each incoming projectile, causing it to veer off course and miss him.

"You! I thought you had changed, you snotty lying little ferret boy!" she screeched at him, hurling her last pieces of ammunition at him to punctuate her point.

There was nothing else she could hurl at him, short of lifting the furniture up. He hoped it meant she would calm down so he could talk to her, but before he could try, she took out her wand and brandished it at him, her hand shaking with rage.

He heard the sound of running footsteps, and he turned his head in time to see the Weaselette, the Weasel, and Potter all stumble through the doorway. He paid them one glance, and then turned his attention back to the violate witch pointing a wand at him.

"My diary! You bigoted bastard!" she screamed, and he wanted to plead for her to just calm down and let him explain. The other students began filling the room, and one of them asked something, but Draco didn't pay her any attention.

"Hermione, it's not what you think—" he began, but evidently it wasn't the best thing to say, as she uttered a curse, and then all the items that had previously been thrown at him picked themselves off the floor and had another shot.

He ducked instinctively, and then made a beeline for his bedroom, waving his wand so it opened before him, and slammed it shut as soon as he was inside. They started banging at the door, and he began to worry if it would hold. Still, he could hear Hermione's voice over the thumping of the flying objects.

"Come out you coward!"

"Hermione, please listen to me!" he pleaded.

"Why should I? You've tormented me ever since I came here! I finally thought you'd changed, and then you do this!"

He couldn't reply. He whirled around as he heard a sound, to find that the items had found their way to his window. He cursed and used the repelling spell to push them out the window, and then shut it and strengthen it so he was sure they wouldn't break in.

He could hear Hermione's voice while he worked.

What are you staring at?" she asked the others in the room. There was the thunderous sound of almost the entire 7th year Potions class running away, and then a relative silence.

The first voice to speak was smug and confident. The Weasel. "So you've come to your senses and decided to go with me after all?" he asked smugly.

"No, you idiot!" she said, and he imagined her glaring at him. "You're even worse than him!" she said.

"_Invito Aranea_" the voice uttered. He recognized the curse; it was one that he had taught her, specifically to use on the Weasel. He was happy that she still remembered it.

There was silence for a while, and he imagined her glaring at Potter and the Weaselette, who he assumed were still in the room. Or ignoring their presence entirely as she brooded.

Potter broke the silence first. "Hermione?" he asked hesitantly.

There was no reply for a while, before a small sound was heard. A muffled sob, and then the quiet sounds of her crying. His heart clenched, and he didn't even notice that the battering of the flying things had stopped. "Hey, it's alright". Potter was comforting her. He was comforting her, when Draco was hiding in his room, eavesdropping on them. They all seemed to have forgotten that he was there, or thought that he couldn't hear them.

At this, the sobs stopped for a moment. "Alright?" Hermione asked incredulously, and Draco imagined her staring at him. "How on earth is it alright? You know that I'm in love with…" she trailed off.

"Draco? You thought that I would hate you for that?" Harry said.

"You're not?" she asked.

The Weaselette chimed in. "Of course not, Hermione. You're still our friend."

"Yeah" Harry agreed. "You could have chosen better than _Malfoy_, but neither of us could ever hate you"

There was a small sound, like a rustling of cloth, and Draco imagined she had hugged him. A small, unexpected shock of jealousy wormed its way into him. He had no right to her, and no right to be jealous.

"But he doesn't love me" said Hermione's quiet voice.

He couldn't take it anymore. His hand twisted on the doorknob and quietly opened to door to the sight of Potter and Hermione hugging, Potter's face turned to him. They were separating as he entered, but Potter froze as he saw him.

"Mal—Draco" he acknowledged, barely keeping himself from using Draco's last name. He drew back, but still held Hermione's hand as she froze.

"Harry. Ginny" Draco said, his face twisting a little as he said their first names, but he was more concerned about Hermione, who looked like she wanted to run. "Hermione" he said in a much softer tone.

"Harry, why don't we go to lunch?" said Ginny, tugging the boy out the door and swinging it shut behind her.

The door shut with an ominous noise, and Hermione still hadn't moved.

"You're wrong" he said.

"What?" she said, her lips barely moving, still not looking at her. He didn't like the way her voice sounded; dead, detached.

"You're wrong," he repeated, moving forward to stand before her. She stood up as well, but she still looked blank and expressionless. "I do love you"

Maybe a little hint of something in her eyes. Just a glimmer of feeling. "I don't believe you" she said.

He was speechless. Of all the responses he expected, this was not one of them. "I do" he said earnestly, the only thing he could think of right now.

She shook her head. "No, you don't. You're just being nice, because you know that I love you"

She sounded so firm in her belief. It was horrible. "What do I have to do to convince you?" he asked desperately.

"Nothing. You can't. You can't love me" she said firmly, a little bit of emotion entering her voice.

"Why?" he asked, trying a different tactic. "Why won't you believe me?"

A small amount of vulnerability showed on her face. "Because you'll hurt me" she said.

He didn't know what to do. "What if we just date?" he suggested, desperate for her not to hate him.

Hermione hesitated, then that cool mask slipped over her face again. He knew what was coming, but he spoke again before it could. "Please? Just one date, let me prove it to you" he said.

"I—okay" she said.

You're eeeeeeeevil!


	15. You're My Unicorn

The following week was horrible. Hermione avoided Draco as much as possible, figuratively hiding behind Harry and Ginny. Despite her best efforts though, Draco still managed to catch her alone sometimes, but those times just made him more frustrated. She never opened up like before, her emotions being kept carefully in check and her face closed off. Whenever he looked into her eyes, all he saw was something dead and robotic.

And it was his fault. He just hoped that there was a way to reverse it.

Hermione felt numb. No, that was the wrong word for it. She was numb, but one emotion managed to worm its way into her consciousness. Dread. She dreaded the coming Hogsmeade weekend, which was tomorrow. She dreaded those moments when _he_ managed to get her alone. She dreaded any mention of contact with _him_ because it was so much harder to stop herself from thinking about the incident when she was with him.

The times that his presence made her think about the day before were horrible. She had to keep her face closed off, preventing it from breaking down in tears like she wanted to.

She hated what happened yesterday so much, not because it meant that _he_ didn't want her, but because it meant that he _might_. That tantalizing hope, that desperate desire, was what was tearing her up inside. She could handle it if he had never changed and was trying to make a fool out of her. She could even handle it if he was trying to be nice and spare her feelings. But she couldn't handle it if she did believe in the hope, and then get her heart broken.

Draco was frantic. It was the day before Hogsmeade—the day before his chance to prove to Hermione that he did love her. He was planning it, taking every opportunity that he could to make her believe the truth. He was rushing back from the Owlery when he saw two familiar figures blocking his way.

It was Potter and his girlfriend. Draco slowed cautiously, wondering what this was about.

"Hermione hasn't been eating" Potter—_Harry_—said.

Draco immediately began worrying. He didn't even think about what he was saying, just needing to know if she was alright.

"Has she been having her nightmares again?" he asked urgently.

Both of them looked at him anxiously. "Nightmares?" Ginny asked.

Draco nodded, not even caring that he was acting like a Gryffindor. "She's had them before, didn't she tell you? She couldn't eat the day after and she would wake up every night, screaming. They only stopped a few months ago"

Harry paused, a worried frown crossing his face. He shook his head slowly. "I don't know. She hasn't told us about them, if she is having them"

Ginny looked at Draco, staring him in the eye. "She's like a robot. She doesn't speak, she doesn't laugh, she doesn't _smile_" she said.

Draco nodded, his face ashen. "It's my fault" he whispered.

It was Hogsmeade day. Draco was dressed casually in Muggle clothes, having picked up the nack for it from Hermione. He was waiting for her in the Entrance Hall, nervously fidgeting.

Hermione was considering not going at all, but she steeled herself, telling herself that she had made herself a promise. She stepped into the Entrance Hall, also wearing Muggle clothing. They would stand out, but Draco knew Hermione was more comfortable with the Muggle clothes.

They followed the rest of the students into Hogsmeade, everyone else splitting off to go into separate shops while Draco and Hermione walked slowly past them all.

Abruptly, Hermione stopped walking. She turned to him, her eyes carefully blank. "Just get it over with, please"

He frowned. "Get what over with, exactly?"

A brief flash of irritation crossed her beautiful features before she responded. "Whether you're going to humiliate me by dumping me later, or whether you want to do it now in public, or even if you're doing this to say you don't return the feeling and being nice, I know I want it over with now. I can't bear this!" she said, her eyes briefly closing at the end.

Draco threw away everything he had been planning for that day. He threw away his elaborate plan to lure her into loving him with expensive things and sweet gestures, instead doing something he hadn't wanted to do until her birthday. He had brought it along just in case, and now he was glad that he had.

"Hermione, do you remember that day when we were out on the grounds? It was the first time we really talked" he started, his voice low. "We saw those unicorns. I've never believed in omens or good signs or other superstitious nonsense, but that day I hoped that those unicorns meant that I would someday get what I wanted most. But it was more than that. Those unicorns, they were so special, so precious to you. I wanted to find something that special to me, something that I could love unconditionally simply because it was special to me"

He paused, pulling the jewellery box out of his pocket and giving it to her. She took it with trembling hands and opened it, examining it with a forcibly dismissive gaze. That was, until she opened the locket. She looked in fascination at the etching in the metal and the moving picture there.

"You're my unicorn" he said.

He couldn't say anything more, though, as he was cut off by her lips on his in a soft kiss.

They were oblivious to the growing crowd of students openly gawking at the unlikely couple. They didn't notice Harry and Ginny looking at them, happy for them. They didn't even notice Dumbledore smiling genially as a disgruntled Professor McGonagall handed him several golden galleons.


	16. Epilogue

**Thanks to everybody who reviewed, added this to story alerts or favourite stories. Special thanks to BellaSand, who read and reviewed to every single chapter, even though she started reading when it was up to chapter 3! Also to anyone who continued to read this, even after the huge gap in updates.**

**Thank you to everyone again; this wouldn't have happened without you! Seriously, it wouldn't have. I would have just given up a long while back.**

**I'm going to start work on a few other stories I have going now, but this time I'm not posting them until I've got them all typed out.**

**Recap:**"You're my unicorn"

He couldn't say anything more, though, as he was cut off by her lips on his in a soft kiss. 

They were oblivious to the growing crowd of students openly gawking at the unlikely couple. They didn't notice Harry and Ginny looking at them, happy for them. They didn't even notice Dumbledore smiling genially as a disgruntled Professor McGonagall handed him several golden galleons.

**Epilogue**

It was the day of the dance. Surprisingly, not many people knew about Hermione and Draco's relationship yet. The few that had seen them in Hogsmeade had been mainly first and second years, and no one else believed them. Harry and Ginny knew, but Ron still thought that Hermione was angry at Draco and that her reaction to his proposal to date was just 'a little tantrum'. He firmly believed that she would come around.

Everyone, however, knew about Hermione's dress. Not the dress itself, but the magical effect. Hermione had no idea how the entire school knew about the dress, since Ginny and Luna swore they hadn't told anyone. However the word got around, it meant that Ron was twice as determined to dance with Hermione.

Draco waited for her at the bottom of the staircase, wearing a set of new dress robes.

Hermione descended, looking like a fairy-tale princess. Her hair was tied up in an elegant bun, with copper-curled ringlets falling down her neck and framing her face. The dress hugged her curves, and he felt like the happiest man alive. He had eyes for no one else as he took her hand, kissing it softly and murmuring how beautiful she looked.

He led her to the dance floor, where soft waltzing music was already playing. He was blocked, however, by an angry Ronald Weasely. He was wearing his same old dress robes, but he had charmed them an angry red that, along with his hair, made him resemble a tomato. He blocked their way, and held up the procession of couples to the dance floor.

"Hermione, what are you doing?" he asked, his eyes locking on to hers.

She lifted her chin slightly, speaking defiantly. "I'm going to the dance" she said.

"With him?" he asked, the anger evident in his voice.

"Yes, Ron" she said simply. The next moment, he was out of their way, rubbing his burning arm furiously. Only Draco could see Hermione's wand lowering in her hand.

They continued, moving to the dance floor. The band played a romantic song, and they danced slowly to the waltz. Everyone pointed and gawked at the couple, some of the third years exclaiming that they had seen them in Hogsmeade. They were oblivious to it all, both of them in bliss as Draco cradled Hermione.

At the staff table, Dumbledore was moving up and down the seats, collecting his winnings from various disgruntled teachers. Snape handed over what looked like a year's supply of golden galleons. Only Trelewany didn't hand over any money, proclaiming that she had seen it with her 'Inner Eye'.

Ron stormed out of the Great Hall with his frayed and smoking robes. On his way, Lavander stopped him. She didn't say anything, but dumped her punch on his head. Parvati joined her and did the same, dumping her sparkling punch on the spluttering Ron.

Draco kissed Hermione as the song ended, some of the girls sighing at the romance of it.

They knew that this was their happy ending. Draco had found his unicorn, and Hermione had found her true love.


End file.
